


Here, at the End of the World

by keslei



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-06 23:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1876449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keslei/pseuds/keslei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He isn't sure how long they sit there in the darkness, watching the heavens rip apart, the only noise the sound of Sam's labored breathing and the impacts of a thousand angels falling to the earth.</p><p>AU from the end of Season 8</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is totally not what I intended to write when I started... But somehow my morbid mind thought this was much more fun to write than what I’d originally planned.
> 
> The inspiration for this was a [gorgeous piece](http://petite-madame.tumblr.com/post/50690882185/) by petite-madame.
> 
> Also, it took me a really long time to figure out how I wanted to end this. Nothing felt right, and after a few months, I gave up entirely, until the last chapter finally came to me today, a year after I started.
> 
> Disclaimer: These characters are not my property.

 

_This is the way the world ends_  
 _This is the way the world ends_  
  


* * *

 

"The angels - they're falling..."

He isn't sure how long they sit there in the darkness, watching the heavens rip apart, the only noise the sound of Sam's labored breathing and the impacts of a thousand angels falling to the earth. Eventually, in one final streak of light blazing across the sky and down to the ground, the last angel falls and the sky goes dark.

And in that moment, Sam gives a shuddering sigh, and his body goes limp in Dean's arms.

Dean's attention is instantly focused on his brother, his hands flying frantically to Sammy's shoulders, as he quickly notes how shallow his breathing is, with each breath slower and smaller than the one before. He's losing Sam, and that wasn't supposed to happen, not since they gave up the trials, and not on his watch, ever. With shaking hands, he tries to rouse his brother, pleads with him to live, because he can';t face losing Sam, not now, not ever...

"Don't you dare die on me... Sammy, don't do this to me... please, not again. I can't lose you, you know that, so breathe, Sammy, just breathe, please..."

There are tears streaming unheeded down his cheeks now, as he lifts his face to the sky and calls out to his angel.

"Cas, he's dying... Where the hell are you?"

But there is no reply, only darkness and silence.

Dean knows then that there will be no answer, no miracle from heaven, so he does the only thing he can do - pulls his brother close against his chest, holds him as he used to when Sammy was little and scared of the dark. He doesn't even know if Sam can hear him, but as he feels his brother slipping away, as Sam draws one last breath, Dean chokes out his final goodbye.

"It's gonna be okay, little brother... Just rest now... You did good."

 

* * *

   
 _This is the way the world ends  
_ _Not with a bang but a whimper.  
_ _\- The Hollow Men - T.S. Eliot -_

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

_Though all we knew depart,_  
 _The old Commandments stand:_  
 _In courage keep your heart,_  
 _In strength lift up your hand.  
  _

* * *

 

It doesn't take long for the petty squabbles of angels to drive the earth to ruin, factions battling across the globe, decimating the human population as they wage war. And those who stand up for the human race are struck down without a thought, until only two remain - the broken hunter and his fallen angel.

The angels come for them eventually, on a brilliantly sunny day with a sky the blue of Cas' eyes.

Not a bad day to die, Dean thinks.

There are too many angels for them to even have a hope of coming out of this alive, and a small part of him is annoyed that after everything, after surviving monsters and demons and the freaking apocalypse, it's come down to this, but that's their life, he supposes.

This is what you get for standing in the way of the angels one too many times.

But there's no way he's going down without taking as many of them with him as he can, so he tightens his grip on the angel blade and shifts his weight to the balls of his feet. Behind him, he senses Cas doing the same, and he reaches one hand back and touches his angel's elbow.

"Wait for it, Cas. Let them come to us..."

And for an instant, everything freezes, and the sound of a hundred angel blades dropping into their owners' hands rings out in the eerie silence.

In that moment, Dean wishes that there was another way, a way where they could live, could bring Sammy back, find a quiet lake somewhere and leave the world and heaven and hell behind, just the three of them. Hell, Cas never even got to live any of the good parts of being human...

But their choices led them here, to this end.

At least he'll die back-to-back with his angel.

And as the angels start forward, he hears Cas ask quietly, "Now, Dean?"

Dean nods grimly, though he knows Cas can't see him.

We're coming home, Sammy...

"Now."

 

* * *

  
 _There is but one task for all,_  
 _One life for each to give._  
 _\- For All We Have and Are - Kipling -_

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

_They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;_  
 _They fell with their faces to the foe.  
_  

* * *

 

Cas falls first, a blade through his heart, his body dropping limply to the dry earth. The angel who killed him falls to Dean's silent fury, and then the others are upon them.

They strike Dean down viciously, in burning wrath, their blades driving into him over and over again, into this mere mortal who has been their greatest enemy. He falls in silence, his blood pooling beneath him.

And the stroke that kills the righteous man is the angels' undoing.

For as his blood soaks into the earth, the skies darken, and the wind begins to howl through the deserted streets. The clouds whirl overhead, the earth reels and rocks beneath the feet of the angelic horde, and the wrath of the Father descends in fire and smoke.

Judgment is swift and merciless, as the warring angels are struck down where they stand, burned to ashes by white gouts of flame. They have forgotten their purpose, set themselves up as gods - now they pay the price for their pride.

When the smoke clears, humanity crawls out from the ruins and rebuilds, but they do not forget the men whose deaths brought a new age. Over time, the tale of the heroes who saved mankind spreads from town to town, from nation to nation, until the legend of the righteous man and the faithful angel is told throughout the world.

Thus the final prophecy of the Winchester gospels, the one hastily scrawled in ink on the last page of the manuscript, is fulfilled.

"For so shall be shed the blood of the righteous,  
      and the life of the faithful one be spent,  
 To cleanse the land of all desecration,  
      and open the heavens once more.  
 And mankind shall walk free upon the earth,  
      and remember from whence their  
           salvation came."

And in some remote corner of heaven, Dean sits on an old wooden dock, fishing pole in his hand, and Cas at his side. The fish are biting, the sky is blue, and he can hear Sammy clomping down the dock to join them. A smile crosses his face, and his eyes sparkle with joy as he calls out.

"Sammy - you remember my pie?"

 

* * *

  
 _They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:_  
 _Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn._  
 _At the going down of the sun and in the morning,_  
 _We will remember them.  
_ _\- For the Fallen - Binyon -_

 


End file.
